I won’t be too verbose. because I’ve been up since 4:00 this morning, making the graphs and collecting the data for tomorrow’s Monthly Report. I also made a rice, eggs, veggies, and chili concoction for two or three dinners. After I get my articles up, it’s nap time.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:27 (4:32 Average). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Media Matters: Republican insiders are complaining that the right-wing media "is shaping the party’s agenda in ways that are impeding Republicans’ ability to govern and to win presidential elections," according to a new Harvard report.

New York Times reporter Jackie Calmes, a Joan Shorenstein fellow at Harvard’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, spent nearly four months researching how the conservative media is increasingly influencing the Republican Party. She found "unanimity among establishment Republicans — many of them conservatives by the definition of anyone but purists — that rightwing media has become a big problem for the party, and their readiness to talk about it, was something of a surprise to this reporter of three decades’ experience in Washington."

Since its founding in 2004, Media Matters has documented the increasingly extreme rhetoric and policy positions of conservative media. But party Republicans are now complaining that conservative commentators, many of whom are lining their pockets with big salaries, are making it difficult for Republicans to govern and win national elections.

Dave Schnittger, a longtime former top aide to House Republican leaders, told Calmes that conservative media are loudest in opposing actions "that leaders have to get done as part of governing," such as meeting basic fiscal deadlines.

Another top Republican aide, who asked for anonymity, complained of the conservative media: "There’s no money, ratings or clicks in everyone going along to get along." Calmes added, "Asked whether he could offer examples of legislative outcomes affected by conservative media, this Republican all but snapped, ‘Sure. All of ’em.’ Does he worry more broadly then about the small-d democratic process? ‘Yeah, absolutely. Because the loudest voices drown out the sensible ones and there’s no real space to have serious discussions.’"

While what they say is essentially true, the article misses the real point. The biggest reason that the Republican Bubble Machine is so harmful to establishment Republicans is that by saying what the rabid base, recruited by those same establishment Republicans, wants to hear, they are making it more difficult for those establishment Republicans to mislead voters about their true intentions.

From Daily Kos: In one simple quote, Sister Joan Chittister, O.S.B. sums up the hypocrisy of some in the ‘pro-life’ movement:

"I do not believe that just because you’re opposed to abortion, that that makes you pro-life. In fact, I think in many cases, your morality is deeply lacking if all you want is a child born but not a child fed, not a child educated, not a child housed. And why would I think that you don’t? Because you don’t want any tax money to go there. That’s not pro-life. That’s pro-birth. We need a much broader conversation on what the morality of pro-life is."

This quote applies well to many Republican lawmakers and anti-choice extremists who continue to introduce/pass misogynist laws restricting a woman’s reproductive rights.

While I may disagree with the Sister’s views on a woman’s right to choose, I have to respect her belief. No respect is warranted for the beliefs of Republican Supply-side pseudo-Christians, who preach that the right to life ends at birth, because they would impose their will on people who do not share their beliefs.

During a speech at the National Urban League conference, Hillary Clinton talks about racial inequality in America, saying unfortunately, race determines who gets ahead in America and who gets left behind. She says this occurs because of discrimination that is still ongoing.

You decide for yourselves, but I found her speech brilliant. I particularly like her political savvy in choosing Strike Three as the occupant of the Clown Car important enough to call out for his lies.

It’s another day, and the unrelenting heat continues. The webs between by toes, developed from living in cool, rainy Oregon for thirty-six years are cracked and brittle. The long range forecast sets the next day, below 90° as 7/11. This weather would be exceptional in the heat season, August and early September, not June and July. ARGH!! Although today is the official holiday, I’ll save Independence Day greetings for tomorrow.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 6:15 (average 5:08 (COPD coughing attack in mid-solve)). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Fantasy Football Recruiting:

We still need one or two new players for Lefty Blog Friends, our fantasy football league. We’re trying to get Viv in, but are not sure if it will support her smart phone. How about you? For more information, click here.

Short Takes:

From Media Matters: The Associated Press’ (AP) report on a meeting between lawless Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and Republican presidential hopeful Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) completely ignored the nationwide controversy Bundy sparked in 2014 when he made a series of racist comments about "the Negro." Paul himself repudiated Bundy at the time for his "offensive" commentary, a fact that was also missing from the AP article.

According to the AP, Bundy and Paul met during a June 29 campaign event in Mesquite, Nevada. Bundy said of Paul to the AP, "In general, I think we’re in tune with each other." Politico additionally reported that the two men spoke for 45 minutes.

In its report, AP described the April 2014 armed standoff between Bundy supporters and federal law enforcement agents as "one of the more dramatic conflicts over land rights in recent years," but made no mention of Bundy’s infamous racist commentary…

Barf Bag Alert!!

It is media bias at it’s worst to ignore support from Idiot, Son of Idiot, Named after Idiot for this racist Republican terrorist.

Jeb! has called Obamacare "flawed to its core" on several occasions, but apparently it wasn’t too flawed for him to make a handsome profit from. Josh Barro reports.

According to tax returns released by Mr. Bush’s campaign on Tuesday, he sold $1,103,424 worth of stock in Tenet Healthcare in September and October of 2013, yielding a capital gain of $556,283. It hadn’t taken Mr. Bush long to double his money — he was selling shares he had acquired in 2010 and 2011.[…]

…Mr. Bush’s tax returns reflect a gain of 105 percent on Tenet stock he acquired in May 2011 and sold in October 2013. Tenet shares actually gained 68 percent over that period; Mr. Bush’s higher gain may be related to his receipt of restricted stock grants. Still, Tenet’s 68 percent gain was much stronger than the 26 percent overall gain for the S.&P. 500 index over the same period.

And why did Tenet’s stocks outperform other stocks? Because investors anticipated that Obamacare would make hospitals more profitable, with increased usage and fewer payment defaults by uninsured patients.

There’s nothing unusual for a Republican or a Bush here.

From NY Times: Jim Webb, a former Virginia senator and Reagan-era secretary of the Navy, announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday, bringing his antiwar credentials to the field in what many consider a long-shot campaign for the presidency.

Mr. Webb’s announcement caught some political observers by surprise. He was the first from either party to form a presidential exploratory committee but has been barely visible since.

I was for him when he ran for Senator against George Allen, Macaca Man, but except for his opposition to the Iraq War, he’s been mostly a Republican posing as a Democrat, and should be treated as such.

I’m completely worn out. Yesterday I finally got around to completing the corporate tax returns and annual reporting paperwork for my prison volunteer organization. It took the rest of the day. I’m trying to rest as much as possible today, because tomorrow will be busy packing and doing last minute preparations for my three day prison volunteer trip. Therefore my Memorial Day article will be a repost of last year’s.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:17 (average 4:45). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From NY Times: Remember Douglas Adams’s 1979 novel “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”? It began with some technology snark, dismissing Earth as a planet whose life-formsas a planet whose life-forms “are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea.” But that was then, in the early stages of the information technology revolution.

Since then we’ve moved on to much more significant things, so much so that the big technology idea of 2015, so far, is a digital watch. But this one tells you to stand up if you’ve been sitting too long!O.K., I’m snarking, too. But there is a real question here. Everyone knows that we live in an era of incredibly rapid technological change, which is changing everything. But what if what everyone knows is wrong? And I’m not being wildly contrarian here. A growing number of economists, looking at the data on productivity and incomes, are wondering if the technological revolution has been greatly overhyped — and some technologists share their concern.

Click through for this thought provoking editorial by Paul Krugman.

From Upworthy: Watch David Blight elaborate on the story of what happened those days in Charleston, S.C. in this PBS clip.

I consider this a most fitting commemoration.

From Crooks and Liars: Sen. Bernie Sanders appeared on this Sunday’s Reliable Sources and spoke to host Brian Stelter about his recent criticism of the media and their demands for a food fight between Sanders and his opponent in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary, Hillary Clinton.

I have a cold or the flu. I’m running a fever and have nasal congestion in addition to severe COPD. I got it from chilling myself outside a bureaucrat’s office. On the other had, it could just be what I get for turning 67 on Friday the 13th. Obviously, this is today’s only article. Some of the material is slightly outdated, but, as bad as I feel, it’s the best I can do.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:22 (average 4:52). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Stating that “their continuing hostilities are a threat to world peace,” Iran has offered to mediate talks between congressional Republicans and President Obama.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, made the offer one day after Iran received what he called a “worrisome letter” from Republican leaders, which suggested to him that “the relationship between Republicans and Obama has deteriorated dangerously.”

“Tensions between these two historic enemies have been high in recent years, but we believe they are now at a boiling point,” Khamenei said. “As a result, Iran feels it must offer itself as a peacemaker.”

He said that his nation was the “logical choice” to jumpstart negotiations between Obama and the Republicans because “it has become clear that both sides currently talk more to Iran than to each other.”

He invited Obama and the Republicans to meet in Tehran to hash out their differences and called on world powers to force the two bitter foes to the bargaining table, adding, “It is time to stop the madness.”

I’m afraid it won’t work Andy. Some terrorists are just too far gone for Iran to be able to help.

I’m writing for tomorrow, day 70. This will be a brief article. I’m about to leave for prison.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:39 (average 5:54). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Upworthy: I wonder what would happen if these ads replaced the 500 fake ones that we see every day? Would people still judge women based on their skin tone, size, height, waistline, hair length, shoe size?

These real women are not what we see on the Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda, Faux Noise.

From The New Yorker: In a possible setback for Mitt Romney’s latest Presidential ambitions, a new poll reveals that a majority of Americans now regard the former Massachusetts governor as a stalker.

The poll results suggest that Romney’s presence in every Presidential campaign in recent memory has taken its toll on the American people, who have expressed disbelief that he would return after being repeatedly told in no uncertain terms that he was not wanted.

Additionally, many of those surveyed said that they previously felt harassed by the Massachusetts governor’s relentless e-mails and phone calls, and favored some form of intervention to keep Romney from contacting them in the future.

In an indication of how much Romney’s serial candidacies have traumatized the American people, more than fifty per cent said that they would support a restraining order to keep the former nominee five hundred feet from the United States until the 2016 election had safely passed.

Does Andy have Little Lord Willard pegged or what?

From Daily Kos: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and would-be president has a new book out, since that’s the thing that presidential candidates do. Politico excerpts 10 key quotes that demonstrate, according to the paper, how Rubio "tries hard to come across as an ‘ideas guy.’" They include his quote on Social Security and Medicare, which demonstrates that he is basing his ideas on total ignorance of actual policy.

"It is hard for me to imagine retiring at 65 and spending the next quarter century not working. I expect to be working, doing something productive and fulfilling."

Rubio supports raising the retirement age for Social Security as a way to ensure the system’s solvency and to reflect longer life expectancies. It’s perhaps the most politically risky territory he treads in the book. He says acting soon will allow people currently over the age of 55 to be spared. Rubio also advocates reducing the growth of benefits to upper-income seniors as well as eliminating the payroll tax on workers who have already reached retirement age.

On Medicare, he supports a voucher-like system in which seniors would get a set amount of money and can choose between traditional fee-for-service Medicare and private providers.

I’m writing for tomorrow, day 61. It’s a slow news day, and the Dulcolax has not cured my Republicitis yet, so this is tomorrow’s only article.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 5:37 (average 6:19). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Upworthy: The Biggest Problems Of Our Times All Come Down To This Word That Starts With ‘E’

I teach prisoners the art of cognitive empathy as part of my volunteer work, so I found this video most interesting. I also actually do try to find common ground to talk to Republicans. The problem, with that is that any time I demonstrate that reality differs from what they have been seeing on Faux Noise, they react with personal insults and threats. If the empathy museums the video suggests were at all effective, Republicans would outlaw them, because empathy and Republican policies are mutually exclusive.

This is their 2014 recap of the Republican bubble machine. Given that Republicans think this is real, is it any wonder that act as they do?

From NY Times: Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, announced Saturday night that he was ending his cable talk show and would make a decision about a presidential bid this spring.

Mr. Huckabee, a Republican, used his weekly Fox News program, “Huckabee,” to reveal that he was leaving the network as he considers a second campaign for the White House.

I see this as a very positive development, because Upchuck Huck can help force Republican extremists, that pretend to be moderate, such as Strike Three and PIGnocchio, to reveal their true agenda to get the nomination and make themselves unacceptable to voters in the process.

From PFAW: All of us here at People For the American Way wish you happy holidays and a very happy and healthy New Year.

We know there are major challenges to face in the year ahead, but we look forward to meeting those challenges with you by our side.

Take a moment to check out a video about just some of what’s in store with next year’s incoming Congress:

Kudos to PFAW for providing excellent information!

From Daily Kos: Remember the march to protest police brutality in Washington DC?

Remember the outrage on right wing radio and news outlets picked up a chant saying clear as day- " Kill a Cop"? I had my Facebook timeline filled with outrage after the New York shootings linking the double police homicide with the "evil" chants from Washington DC…

…Baltimore Fox Affiliate Fox 45 Took the audio of the chanting and made a cut to make it seem like protesters were chanting "Kill a Cop".

What really happened.

Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda edit

Totally despicable! Typically Republican!!

From Mother Jones (Hat-Tip Lynn Squance): On December 16, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush announced (via Facebook) that he plans to "actively explore the possibility of running" for president in 2016. It’s the first step toward formally entering the race.

But there are plenty of reasons why Bush should think long and hard before subjecting himself (and his family) to the ruthless scrutiny of a presidential campaign. His history is an opposition researcher’s dream—clouded by embarrassing family episodes, allegations of philandering, offensive comments to black voters, and dubious business dealings.

Many of these past deeds and misdeeds will no doubt be put under the microscope should Bush run in 2016. Here are 23 reasons why he might want to take a pass—and it’s only a partial list:

This an excellent resource for the dirt on Strike Three. Click through.

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